#MeToo Creator Tarana Burke Is Writing a Memoir

"The movement is more about triumph than trauma."

Tarana Burke, the creator of the viral #MeToo movement, will be documenting the powerful cultural trend in an upcoming memoir.

As noted by Mashable, Burke's book will be released in 2019, and is titled Where the Light Enters: The Founding of the ‘Me Too’ Movement. In a statement, Burke explained that the memoir will examine what it means to be a survivor of sexual harassment or assault. She added that the book will "[take] the reader through my ordinary, extraordinary journey from victim to survivor to thriver; while providing an understanding of why something like the 'me too' movement was not just necessary for my community, but for the world."

Burke's statement also notes that her book will take the #MeToo movement one step further by highlighting what it's like to be a survivor and a person of color. "The book will also help readers understand the often overlooked historical connections of the role sexual violence plays in communities of color, specifically black communities, even today, while exploring ways the same communities have been both complicit and resilient," she explained. Additionally, Burke emphasized that the book — and the #MeToo movement itself — is "more about triumph than trauma."

Burke originally conceived of the movement in 1997 during a conversation with a fellow survivor. (She began using the hashtag a decade later, in 2007.) Burke told The New York Times that she had been rendered speechless while listening to a 13-year-old girl describe being sexually abused. "I didn’t have a response or a way to help her in that moment, and I couldn’t even say ‘me too,’" she explained, adding: "It really bothered me, and it sat in my spirit for a long time." The same anecdote is available on the website of her organization, Just Be Inc.: a community focused on the "health, well being and wholeness of young women of color."

Burke's website also includes an explanation of the #MeToo movement itself, where she explains that the goal is to bring a sense of empowerment to survivors of sexual harassment, abuse, and assault. Just like she mentioned when discussing her upcoming book, Burke explains: "We want to turn victims into survivors — and survivors into thrivers."